Tuesday, 5 March 2013

March on Spring

It is mud time in Nova Scotia. It is not winter. It is not spring. It is time to look for laughs and fun wherever you can find it.

They say quilting is therapeutic. Well it is and it is not. Depends on how much you have promised yourself you will get done. The ability to think things is so fast but the physical act of planning and doing is much longer. Should you panic? No. You know that doing that project that has been in your mind and the deadline set that is pinging your brain will translate into feeling good once you get started.

It is the getting started part that is hard. Well I am trying this and it is working. First of all think of whether this is a brain dead day or morning or afternoon. You know what I mean. Your brain feels like porridge and your jammies feel so much better than any other clothing and hot coffee and a warm cozy chair are beckoning. Well do not let this stop you. Run your projects through the movie in your head and look for tasks on a quilt that can be done when your brain is stuck in winter mode (almost frozen). For me this is printing out embroidery designs that will be made into applique on a quilt and making sure they are the right size and their placement on the quilt is right. Ok. With that finished you can find a better day to do the embroidery. It is also a time to catch up on quilting videos on the computer. Even porridge can absorb things like milk and brown sugar and quilting videos are like brown sugar. You sprinkle the bits around and it provides pleasure and you remember the taste. So you will remember things you learn when the porridge brain has disappeared.

If you have managed to get past this stage then you may not feel whole hearted about sewing. Well what about practicing something you have wanted to. There is no loss if it does not work but you will have tried but not ruined an important project. And you will be a few steps ahead and you may learn something which will make a project that much easier. And you might find yourself with a cute mini quilt. I did on Sunday. I had fun. The fabric was part of a challenge and is now finished except for some beading. One of those projects is finished and I enjoyed my jammie day.

Watching quilting videos is a good use of what appears to be not useful time. And it might bring a laugh. Well in my case it did. I was watching the latest The Quilt Show videos. So was my indoor Siamese. Normally he sits on the desk with the computer and contemplates being a killer of the big blue jays outside the window. Of course the glass keeps him safe. But I was watching the video and it was dark so no blue jays. But there were fingers moving on the screen. Cat. Fingers. Pounce. Ah but that was no fun because Mom kept catching the paw. Then I had to burst out laughing because he kept going behind the laptop to look for the people talking. Look. Pop. Look. Quick Pop. No people. Then the questioning face and finally disgust. Blue Jays are more fun. Amazing; the laugh and the video parted the porridge. I learned something and felt inspired. Ah but that might mean adding another project.

Then there is the ultimate porridge parter. Go to lunch with quilting friends and see someone else's project. Quilting company is the best of friendships and seeing something beautiful and almost finished really stirs the blood.

Now to find the energy to go to exercise class. Spring please come. Ah the Siamese is looking for those blue jays. Time for peanuts to encourage them to come and give him fun. No blue jays are ever killed in case you are wondering. He probably would not know what to do if his feet ever hit ground. He still has the foot pads of a new kitten.